There are various methodologies that have been proposed for sequestering carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas commonly contained in industrial emissions and it is desirable to sequester carbon dioxide gas in solid form.
In addition, there are various waste residues such as mining residue or waste concrete that are accumulated and not utilized for industrial processing.
Some background patent documents are as follows: U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,787, U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,921, U.S. Pat. No. 7,815,880, U.S. Pat. No. 7,919,064; U.S. Pat. No. 8,105,558, U.S. Pat. No. 8,114,374, US 2004/0131531, US 2007/022032, US 2007/0261947, US 2008/0112868, US 2008/0277319, US 2008/0299024, US 2010/0196235, US 2010/0221163, US 2011/0256048, US 2012/0177552, WO 2008/061305, WO 2009/092718.
Another previous report from the Albany Research Center, describes an ex situ industrial carbonation of serpentinite and describes it as an unviable option. 100% CO2, critical high pressure and temperature, and pure mineral phases were used. [Gerdemann S J, O'Connor W K, Dahlin D C, Penner L R and Rush H. (2007) Ex situ aqueous mineral carbonation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 2587-2593] determines the cost of about $54 per ton of CO2 (realizing no profit), which is a price derived from extraction of serpentinite, a costly high pressure mineralization process, and with no revalorisation of the magnesium carbonate.
There is indeed a need for a technology that overcomes at least some of the disadvantages of the carbon dioxide sequestration techniques that are known in the field, and also that utilizes industrial emissions and alkaline earth metal containing residues.